Airbrush



Feb. 27, 1945. I J A. PAASCHE 2,370,486

AIR BRUSH Filed Feb. 4, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet l Feb.27, 1945. J. A.PAASCHE I2,370,486r

AIR BRUSH Filed Feb. 4, `194:5 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

Jw .mfck@ am @6W/766% Patented Feb. 27, 1945 "UNITED STATES .PATENTOFFICE p AIRBRUSH Jens A. Paesane, chicago, 111. y

Application February 4, 1943, Serial No. 474,664

4 Claims.

I This invention relates generally to airbrushes and more particularlyto air brushes adaptedjfor use in art work.

Air brushes of the type contemplated by the present invention must becapable of efficient The present invention relates more specifically tocertain improvements in the design of air brushes, and it is one of theimportant objects of the present invention to provide an air brushstructure wherein the pigment receptacle may be secured in variouspositions of adjustment to accommodate its use to various positions inwhich the handle of the' air brush is held when in use.

,It is also an object of the present invention to provide an air brushof the type set forth above which will operate very silently and to thisend theinvention contemplates an improved actuator wheel constructioncapable of receiving a device, said view being taken substantially alongthe line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the needle guiding bushing andsupport therefor taken substantially along the line 4 4" of Fig. 5;

of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary detailed sectional view takentransversely of the handle structure substantially along the line 1-1 ofFig. 2;

Fig. 8 is also a detailed transverse sectional view taken substantiallyalong the line S-B of blast of air at its periphery without causing anyY appreciable noise to be developed.

It is another object of the present invention to provide in associationwith an air brush structure capable of manual manipulation, improved.guiding means for a reciprocable pigment con-v The inventioncontemplates an air brush struc- ,A ture in which the constituent partsare relatively few in number and whereby both adjustment, repair andreplacement may be accomplished with a minimum amount of skill andeffort on the porting structure associated therewith;

' Fig. 9 is a fragmentary side elevational View of the lower lor forwardextremity of the air brush structure to illustrate the position occupiedby the adjustable pigment receptacle when used in association with asurface slightly inclined from the horizontal; and y Fig. 10 is a viewsimilar to Fig. 9 disclosing an adjusted position of the pigmentreceptacle when the air brush is used in association with a surfaceslightly inclined from the vertical.

Referring now tothe drawings wherein like numerals have been employed todesignate similar l parts throughout the various figures, it; will bepart of the user and whereby the device vmay be v vvery economicallymanufactured.

` clearly illustrate the manner in which a supply of needles may beretained within the handle structure;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal sectional view takensubstantially along the line 2--2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged end sectional .viewl of the s 'seen that oneembodiment of the invention as disclosed yherein contemplates a. handlestructure designated generally by the numeral I2.

side of the wheel M carries a bearing member i6 (Fig. 6) which isadapted to revolve within a complementary hardened bearing member orsleeve I 8. The bearing member I8 is carried by a frame or housingstructure `2Il which cooperates with a cover or complementary housingstructure 22 in enclosing the actuating Wheel I4 and the bearingelements associated therewith'. Extending upwardly from and secured tothe wheel i4 is an eccentric crank member 24 and projecting upwardlyfrom the upper side of the crank 24 is a 1bearing member 26 which iscapable `of rotation .u housing structure. In fact, this bearingarrangewithin acomplementary bearing member 28 centrally disposed Withinthe housing or cover member 22. The bearing members `I and 2S presenttrunnions whichr cooperate with their respective complementary bearingmembers I8 and 28 in rotatably supporti/ng the Wheel I4 within the Thev`'left extremity ofthe handle'structure I2 carries van air operatedlactuating wheel I4. The lower 2 ment yis substantially frictionless dueto the limited area of contact coupled with the fact y that enclosedlubricant or grease retaining chambers 38 and 32 serve toV continuouslyretain a supply of lubricant for said bearings. Threaded caps 34 and 36are provided to 'enable replenishment f lubricant when required.Experience has shown that oncethe chambers 3|! and 32 have been packedwith grease, this servicing will sufce for practically the entire life'of the brush.

A needle actuating member or varm 38` is pro. vided with a longitudinalrecess 4D through which the crank pin 24 extends. armv 38 is pivotallyyconnected at .42 to Yone extremity of a recprocable piston member 4,4.vThisr piston member44 is continuously urged to the right under theinfluence of a coil spring 46. The opposite extremity ofthe needleactuatingmem- One extremity of theA ber or arm 38 is pro-videdfwith anelongated section having a slot 48 for receivingthe bent over portion of-a needle 58 (see Figs. B'and 5). lFrom the forego-ing it will beapparent that rotation of the wheel I4 will efvectoscillation of the arm38 and consequent longitudina1 reciprocation of the needle 58.

tangentially from the lower casing or frame' structure 2U. This arm 5,6is provided with a recess 58 for accommodating Aand guiding the bentportion of the needle 58, as clearly shown in Fig.

3. The free extremity f` JG lle` arm 5.6 is recessed atv 6.0 toaccommodate a receptacle supporting' member 62 and is bifurcated so astorenable a screw member 6 4' (Eigs. 3 and .8) when tightened to rigidlyclamp the member (i2-.in place. The

arm 56 also serves as asupportfor aneedle, guidable adjustment of thereceptacle 'I4 may be made about an axis substantially coincident withthe axis of the needle 50 so thatwhen such adjustment takes place nolateral displacement of l the needle guiding bushing 52 will result,

l A nozzlel 'I8 which terminates adjacent the portion `of the needle 5I)which projects beyond the guide bushing 52 serves to direct an air blastacross the needle after it has been supplied with pigment. A suitableneedle valve 8l] serves to .control the amount of air passing throughthe nozzle 18. The nozzle "i8 is connected to the handle structure 'I2by a suitable coupling 82 (Figs. l and 5),.y Air, is directed into thecoupling 82 from la passage 34 within the handle structure I2 (Fig. 2).The air vblast from this passage is also Adirected against theyyperiphery of the wheel I4 through a conduit 86 (Figs. 2, 5 and 7). Theair1 blast through this conduit 86 is controlled by a suitable needlevalve' 88. Control of air pressure directed against the actuating wheeli4 and the pointed extremity oi the needle 5D isv eiected by the manualmanipulation of a finger operated button 66.

This` button et is so positionedthat the user of the air brush ingrasping the, handle structure I2 may conveniently depressl and tilt'the button. Depending from the button 98 is a lever 92 which ispivotally supported in the outer bent extremity of a control rod` 96.Theportion of the lever 92 extending -below the bent Aextremity of therod 96 is adapted to engage the outer extremity of the piston member 44..As the button 90 is inwardly depressed, the downward moveing element6.6, yThis member 6'6 is axially adjust able upc-n a threaded stud 6.8and is provided with an inclined needle engaging and guiding surface 18.Ifthe member 66Vis adjusted downwardly from-the position shown in Figy',the needle 5I)` is shifted laterally tofthey left. Thus,vthe member 6,6serves as a. needle guiding means and` also as means for controlling thepath in which the needle reciprocates. That is, to say,A the surface7,8, cooperates with` the guiding bushing 52Min,A

maintaining the needle in its' proper path of rrei' ciprocation at alltimes. A coil spring 'I2 serves to frictionally maintain the member 66'in various positions of adjustment'. Slight adjustments of the surface'I0 may be made by rotatably engaging` the knurled extremity ofthemember B6.

Attention is now directed to a pigment receptacleA i4. This receptacleserves to` retain a supply yof pigment and thechamber of the receptaclecommunicates with theI areain the vicinity. of

the bushing 52 throughv an aperture or conduit' in a radially projectingmember 'I6 which is enlarged at its free extremity tc'pprovide` thebushing support or head 54. rIhe free extremity of the arm 62 is securedto the radially, projecting member 'I6 and thus serves as a support forthe receptacle 14. It will be notedfthat the receptacle 74 may betiltablyfadjusted aboutA the axis ofthe member 62 by looseningthe screwlorV stud' 64. The purpose of this adjustment will be more apparent asthe descripticnprogresses. It is impcrtant,'however, at this point? tovnote that tiltating rod 64 outwardly so as to vautomatically close thevalve against a gasket or seat |02 when pressure` is released from thebutton 98. A suitable` screen or lter IGA serves to remove all foreignelements from the air before it enters the chamber e8. An adjustableabutment screw IUE is mountedv in the outer portion of the rod 94 andserves as a positive stop to limit the tilting of the button 96 to theleft (Figs. 1 and 2). Thus,when the valve 96 is unseated by the downwardmovement of the control button Bihan air blastis directed against theperiphery of the actuating wheel I4 through the conduit 86, and thenozzlerl` directs an air' blast yagainst-'the pointed extremity of thereciprocatingneedle. "I-his air blast against the reciprocatingextremity of' the needle causes pigment to be removed in the form ofa'stream from the need-le- The quantity of pigment discharged from theneedle may be regulated by oscillating the lever 92. Thus, by tiltingthe lever to the right from the position shown in Pig. 2 the piston 44and consequently the actua-tingyarm 38 is shifted to the left. yThiscauses the needle 58 to experience `agreater degree of reciprocatio-nand consequently enables ala-rger quantity of pigmenty to be dischargedfrom* the pointed extremity of the needle. Thus, by slight tiltingmovement of the lever 92 a veryv fine control of the quantity of pigmentmay beobtained. Also the volume of a-ir may be simultaneously controlledby downywarclly depressing the button 68, as previously described.Further adjustment ofair blast may be obtained by adjustment of theneedleY valves 88 and 88. Y Y vAttention isr now directed to thespecificarrangement of air receiving recesses or serrations Hi8 providedalong the periphery of the wheel I4. It will be noted that theserecesses are relatively shallow and completely traverse the relativelynarrow width of the Wheel. It has been found that the use of theserelatively fine serrations enables the wheel to be air operated withsubstantially no noise. Thus, the Wheel and its associated parts operatevery silently and free..

from vibration.

In using the air brush just described the handle structure I2 is grippedsimilarly to the gripping of a writing pen. When the brush is to be usedon a surface which is parallel to or slightly inclined from thehorizontal as indicated in Fig. 9, the receptacle 'M is secured in the.position shown. When the surface to be treated is positioned morenearly to the vertical, the handle structure is positioned as shown inFig. and a tiltable adjustment of the receptacle lil may be made so asto retain said receptacle in a substantially horizontal position. Thus,regardless of the position in which the handle structure is held, whilethe brush is in use the receptacle may be adjusted so as to positively.prevent spilling of pigment therefrom. This adjustment may be effected,as previously pointed out, by loosening the set screw 54 and thenshifting the receptacle or cup to the desired position. This shifting isaccomplished Without disturbing the alignment of the removable bushing52 from its support.

It will be noted that the needle valve 80 is secured in any position ofadjustment through the agency of a coil spring |09, Fig. 5. The pressureof this coil spring against the under side of the screw head is suicientto preventinadvertent rotation thereof. To further protect the screwagainst inadvertent rotation, a suitable cap I l I is placed over thehead of the screw, as illustrated in Fig. 5. This cap is disassociatedfrom the other figures wherein the needle valve 80 appears merely forthe purpose of more clearly illustrating the structural characteristicsof the valve.

It will also be noted that the recess in the bearing member I8 forreceiving the'rotary pintle or bearing member I6 is relatively deep.This insures the wheel I4 against tilting out of alignment plated, andthat the invention should not lbe limited thereby as is apparent fromthe scope of the appended claims.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows:

l. An air brushI including an air operated actuating wheel having arelatively nely serrated periphery, an oscillatory needle actuatingmember driven by said wheel, means for directing an air blast againstthe serrated periphery of said wheel for actuating same, a needleconnected with and longitudinally reciprocated by said oscillatoryactuating member, guide means for said needle in the vicinity of thepointed extremitythereof, a pigment receptacle communicating with anarea traversed by the pointed extremity of the reciprocable needle,angularly and longitudinallyadjustable receptacle supporting means forsecuring said receptacle in various positions of adjustment toaccommodate it to various positions in which the air brush is held whenin use, means for directing an air blast tothe pointed extremity of theneedle after it has been supplied with pigment from the aforesaid area,a handle structure, and manually operable air blast control meanscarried by said handle structure.

2. An air brush as set forth in claim 1 wherein the guide means for theneedle is carried as a unit' A bushing member and a support therefor,said when the cover or housing structure 22 is removed.` By maintainingthe axis of the Wheel in its upright position, the ease with which thecover may be reapplied and the bearing member 28 thereof registered withthe complementary pintle or bearing y26 is greatly facilitated.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the invention contemplatesan air brush of extremely practical yet simple construction. The deviceis extremely easy to operate and the driven parts operate free fromnoise or vibration. The ease with which the reciprocating needle may becontinuously maintained in proper alignment and the simplicity of theremovable guide 'bushing 52 materially contributes to the efficientfunctioning of the brush. As shown in Fig. 1, the outer extremity of thehandle structure is recessed to accommodate an extra supply of needles,it being only f necessary to remove a cap l I0 to permit access to -theneedles. The novel bearing arrangement for the actuating wheel as wellas the novel peripheral construction of thewheel itself also renders thebrush eciently operable for an extended period of time without thenecessity of adjustment, repair or replacement.

While a specific embodiment of the invention is disclosed in thedrawings, it will be apparent that other modifications and changes arecontembushing having an opening extending from adjacent the bottom ofthe channel to the exterior of said bushing for communication with apigment receptacle, a pigment receptacle communicating with an areatraversed by the pointedextremity of the reciprocable needle, means fordirecting an air blast to the pointed extremity ofthe needle after ithas' been supplied with pigment from the aforesaid area, a handlestructure, and manually operable air blast control means carried bysaidl handle structure.

4. YAn a'ir brush including an air operated actuating Wheel, anoscillatory needle actuating member driven by said wheel, means fordirecting an air blast against `the periphery of said wheel foractuating same, a needle connected with and longitudinally reciprocatedby said oscillatory actuating member, guide means for said needle in thevicinity ofthe pointed extremity thereof, a pigment `receptaclecommunicating with an area traversed by pointed extremity of thereciprocable needle, adjustable receptacle supporting means for securingsaid receptacle in the various positions of adjustment to accommodate itto various positions in which the air brush is held when in use, saidreceptacle supporting means being soconstructed and arranged as topermit Atilting of the receptacle supported thereby about supplied withpigment from the aforesaid area, a

handle structure, and manually operable air blast control means carriedby said handle structure.

JENs A. PAASCHE.

